Responding to activist Facebook citizens, the fast growing social network has given users more control over the contentious Beacon feature recently added to the site. Organized by MoveOn.org, a petition objecting to the new program was signed by over 50,000 members in 10 days.

Why has Beacon been so controversial? The feature reports activity from other sites the user is visiting while keeping their Facebook page open at the same time, without giving that user an opt-out option each time an activity occurs. So, for example, if I bought my friend surprise movie tickets on Fandango.com, those tickets, and the movie I was planning to see, would be instantly reported to my friends on Facebook, turning personal activity into a public event. Facebook responded by making modest changes, allowing users to opt out for each interaction enabled by the Beacon feature.

In response to the Facebook fracas, Chad Stoller, director of emerging platforms of Organic, a digital advertising agency, was recently quoted in The New York Times asking, “Isn’t this community getting a little hypocritical? Now, all of a sudden, they don’t want to share something?” This is a perfect example of someone who has missed the point of a life lived in public on the internet.

On the surface, Facebook members may appear to be sharing every detail of their lives, but ultimately they are in complete control of the image they are presenting of themselves. How many hours have I spent in the past five years carefully editing my favorite books, movies, and quotes? (Is it too pretentious to put Ulysses? Do I want all the members of my 10th grade Honors English class to know that The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is still my favorite book?)  Facebook is a performance wherein you can present the best version of yourself in simple bulleted points. Only the most attractive photos are left tagged, and everyone can admire how popular you are by the number of gifts and wall posts you’ve received, and the number of events you attend.

Where Facebook goes wrong then, is when it takes control away from the user, fragments their carefully constructed image, and tries to speak for them. This is exacerbated when users aren’t even aware that the site is speaking on their behalf. I’ve been a member of Facebook for almost five years; long before walls, groups, events, applications, and high school students took it over. When the Newsfeed was introduced, I was so appalled that I wrote an angry letter to Zuckerberg and Co. vowing never to use their site again. Then I adjusted my privacy settings to control exactly what types of stories could be published about me. Like the rest of the Facebook community, I got over my anger quickly, and ultimately embraced this new facet of Facebook performance. The newest changes on Facebook (publishing details of users’ online shopping activities on third-party sites), have inspired backlash from members, but I suspect that the brouhaha will fade away quickly.  I have little doubt that Facebook will give members the opportunity to opt out of having their purchases broadcast, and once that control over the presentation of their lives (whether or not they choose to exercise it) has been given back to users, all will be well again in the Facebook universe.

BY LAURA

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